Terminal Emulation Software Explained
Old vs New, TCP and SNA
We continue to look at standards, old and new, that have played a role in the evolution of terminal emulation. This articles discusses SNA and TCP and their roles in network communications.
Old vs New, SSH and Telnet
As a developer of terminal emulation software we’re acutely aware of legacy technologies and the role they have played and in the evolution of windows terminal emulator software. This article is the first in a series that takes a look at some of the standards, old and new, that have played a role in terminal history.
Automation and Terminal Emulation: Hotspots
One of the most striking characteristics of terminal based host interaction, particular for those users who only have experience with Microsoft Windows or Apple operating systems is the fact that interaction with the host is entirely keyboard driven. Many solutions have been devised on both the host and client side with the aim of bringing a modern and user friendly look and feel to host systems. In TTWin one of the simplest and most effective tools to achieve this is what we call Hotspots.
Automation and Terminal Emulation: Macros
Perhaps one of the most useful features in TTWin is it’s macro capabilities. TTWin’s macros offer a wide variety of options for automation that, unlike ActiveX or our built-in scripting language TTWin Basic, require no knowledge of programming languages making them significantly easier for the casual user. Macros can be created quickly and easily to achieve automation of tasks and host interactivity. Now, with the addition of a Macro Assistant in TTWin version 4, the task of building macros is now even simpler. Click Here To Read More
Automation and Terminal Emulation: ActiveX
Character based terminals are, by their nature, not the most user friendly of environments and accomplishing seemingly simple tasks can often require complex commands beyond the abilities of all but power users. This article looks at possibilities for automating complex terminal emulation tasks using ActiveX.
Terminal Emulation and File Transfer Protocols
A file transfer protocol refers to the method used to transfer files across a network. To enable file transfer to and from a host system a good terminal emulator must support a wide range of protocols to cater to the needs of any number of differing host systems. We take a tour through TTWin’s file transfer options.
The Terminal Emulation Glossary
If you’re new to the topic of terminal emulation, here is some of the most common jargon used in the industry.
Big Iron
(See Mainframe). Big Iron is a slang term for a mainframe; it refers to the bulky mainframes developed by IBM in the ’60s and ’70s.
Block mode
A method of communication between a terminal and a mainframe or host system. User input is entered into the terminal and sent to the host when a form or field is completed and submitted; in ‘blocks’. Some validation occurs on the terminal.
Character mode
A method of communication between a terminal and a mainframe or host system. Each keystroke(character) of input is sent from the terminal to the host when input. Validation is handled by the host system.
Graphical User Interfaces and Terminal Emulation
These days, we take the simplicity of working with computers for granted. If you’re like most people, you’re reading this page from a computer running a Windows operating system, though if you fall outside of the majority, it could be the increasingly popular Mac OS X from Apple, or maybe even a PC running Linux. Whatever the case, your operating system is doing an impeccable job of making using your computer a breeze and this is largely thanks to its graphical user interface or GUI. Once upon a time, there were no GUIs — there were only text based terminals. In this article, we’ll take a look at the evolution of computer access from crude terminals to graphical user interfaces, as well as looking at the role that terminal emulation plays today.
In the beginning…
A Brief History of Terminal Emulation
Terminal emulation refers to a type of software that allows end users to access a host computer or mainframe. The original terminals of the 1960s and ’70s were crude pieces of hardware that performed a single function: accessing their host. Because of these limited capabilities, terminals did not survive in the multi-functional modern computing environment. Instead, terminal emulation software was introduced to mimic the original terminal hardware on a modern PC.
But first we must understand mainframes…
To understand the history of terminal emulation, it’s useful first to understand the history of mainframe computers. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, there was no such thing as a personal computer; instead, there were large mainframes the size of small refrigerators which sat in a specially-designed room and could be accessed by users who shared its processing power, memory, software and so forth. This “centralized” form of computing stood in stark contrast to the distributed, personal computer based solutions of modern computing, where information is shared across a decentralized network.
What is Terminal Emulation Software
When you hear terms such as ‘IBM 3270 emulation ’ or ‘Stratus emulation’, you may balk. You know they have something to do with computers, but you probably haven’t the foggiest idea beyond that. Well, allow us to explain. These are examples of terminal emulation software. It may sound obvious but, to put that simply, this software mimics or ‘emulates’ terminals.
But the big question remains: what the heck is a terminal?
That’s where most people get confused, and justifiably so. You see, terminals hark back to a bygone era of computing. Yet the function that terminals perform is still extremely important in the modern computing landscape. In this article, we’ll help demystify the computer terminal by explaining its role in the history of computers. With this information, you’ll get a greater understanding of why terminal emulation is so crucial today.
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